FF: Another Chance ...Ch 4B PG 12 [7/20/11] (Page 3)

Page 3 of 16

kamySenior Member

I want to read it dil i roughly went through and i know its very good........... but will you finish this one? will you? i hate incomplete stories..... keep updating and break the jinx of incomplete storiessss grrrrrrrrr

take care its been long time.. loved u stories always and you know it....

Indian_GoddessIF-Dazzler

Thank you guys so much for your warm responses. It's very much appreciated. And it's great to see some old friends again (kamy, so glad to see you back! ) I'm very glad you guys are enjoying this story so far. Hope I keep up to your expectations. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 2:

"How are you?" he
continues rather civilly in his booming voice that barely registers in Bani's
ears. She is too numb to hear what it is he is saying, too overcome with
disbelief and shock of what she is seeing. To test whether she is dreaming or
simply going crazy, Bani blinks dumbly at him a few times before it sinks down
that he is in fact here. Jai Walia is actually standing before her at her
apartment door barging back into her life. His gray eyes stare at her so
intently that it gives her shivers. It is these very shivers that take her out
of her numb state. Without another thought, without further delay, she runs
into her apartment and slams the door shut….

However, she isn't
quick enough. To her great dismay, his foot gets caught in between the doorway,
keeping her door from closing. She stares at his polished black shoe with
horror.

"Bani, open the door.
I need to speak to you," he gruffly says through the open crack, peering at her
with his intense eyes.

Panicked by the idea
that he is here and worse---wants to speak to her, Bani pushes against the door
hoping that it will close shut. Jai Walia cringes from the pain of his foot
being slammed by the door, but does not allow this to distract him from getting
inside.

"Bani," he growls in
that dark tone of his. A tone that brings a wave of old, displeasing memories to
hit her hard, then and there. Several emotions arise in her—fear, hurt,
humiliation, and anger---making her jittery with nerves.

"Go away! Leave me
alone! Just leave me alone!" she nearly screams at him. She hears him swear
under his breath before shoving roughly against the door, causing her to
stumble back and let go of her hold. As she tries to regain herself, she sees
that she has given him the chance to enter into her home, her personal haven to
keep her safe from the likes of him.

He stands tall to his
full height of 6'2", dressed smartly in a tailored black suit, accentuating his
broad shoulders and built torso. She instantly feels like a mouse compared to
this giant standing in front of her. A thick, tense environment surrounds them
instantly which grows from the existing silence between them that seems to last
for a century. While Bani continues to comprehend the fact that Jai Walia is
here standing in her home, he takes the still quiet to his advantage by taking
a close look at his surroundings. Unnerved by his silence and of his wandering
eyes, Bani licks her dry lips and tries to compose herself, not wanting to show
this man that he affects her in anyway, that too, after four long years.

"Leave… You are not welcomed here," she says
as coldly as she possibly can say. His jolted gray eyes stare at her for a long
while, making her rather uncomfortable by the way they scrutinize her. Any
hopes of him adhering to her wish and leave are dashed once she sees him shut
the door behind him with a thump.

"Trust me, I have no
pleasure being here either…," he replies sardonically whilst looking around her
small apartment which she had decorated painstakingly to her liking. He raises
one brow.

"You've got a cozy
little home here…. You live here alone or?" he drawls purposely, having an
inkling that this question will get under her skin. He assumes correct once her
cheeks turn a shade of dark red.

"That is none of your
business. You have no right to come barging into my home and demanding
questions. Jai Walia, if you do not tell me the reason for your forced entry,
then you will have to leave," she states tersely, slightly proud of herself for
standing her guard. She watches how he's slightly taken aback by the aggression
in her behavior. And if she wasn't mistaken, she thought she saw brief approval
gleaming in his dark eyes.

"You have a voice," he
remarks with a mirthless smirk.

She crosses her arms,
glaring at him meaningfully. "I've always had a voice," she defensively
responds.

She wonders how she
can suddenly get from feeling terrified to feeling outrageously angry in a time
span of mere moments. She presumes that all the pent up anger and resentment
she had buried inside herself for the past four years has finally erupted…. Or
simply by the presence of Jai, who had always made her experience various
emotions all at once…. even now.

"No, you didn't
really…," he contradicts and turns his back on her, casually looking through
her things, ignoring her completely. This aggravates her even more.

"…. Explain why you
are here," she sternly commands, continuing to send daggers in his way. Her
face flushes with rage as he does not comply, ignoring her as if she isn't even
in the room. His cool eyes proceed in wandering around her lone apartment.

"It's a little warm in
here, don't you think?" he questions no one in particular while removing his heavy
coat and draping it onto the armrest of the couch. He tugs on his tie,
loosening it from his neck, before seating himself down comfortably, kicking
back his legs as if he were in his own home. Bani boils on witnessing this
behavior, any lasting fear of having him here now completely gone. He has
invaded her home, her privacy, and she felt this as a personal attack. This is
her home and he has no right to be here, she will show who is in charge
here---for once it is not him.

Jai throws back his
head, resting it against the plush pillows, and releases a long sigh. "God, air
travel is a real pain in the---"

"This is ridiculous!
Who do you think you are?! Coming in like you own this place?! This is my home!
You cannot just barge in here and act like everything is just grand between us,
Jai! Not when we haven't even spoken in the last four years!" she exclaims
hotly, her hands turning into fists from the sight of him lounging in her
living room. He has been testing her patience long enough.

"Yes, and who is to
blame for that? I don't recall being the one fleeing from the country and
hiding away for four years like a complete coward," Jai retorts breezily and
witnesses the flare burning quickly in Bani's amber-like eyes.

"How dare you…"

"I haven't said
anything wrong, have I?" he intervenes smoothly, cocking one brow at her. "You
did go running to your daddy with your crocodile tears right after our
marriage, did you not? And you did pack your things and left the very next
morning, didn't you?" Bani flinches once he acknowledges the fact that they had
been married, a fact she has been forcing herself to forget since it happened. Unpleasant
memories flood her mind once more…..

"Lost your voice so
soon?" he remarks just as he rises from his seat, approaching her frozen figure
glued to her spot. She meets his steely gaze with glowering eyes. He suddenly
waves his hand before her face, distracting her temporarily, as if wanting to
brush away the animosity that had instantly sprung between them.

"Let's put these
things behind us for the moment, shall we? This isn't why I came here…," he
abruptly changes the direction of their aggressive conversation.

"Then why are you
here, now, that too after so many years? And how is it that you were able to
find me?" she finds herself demanding more viciously than she means to. Jai
Walia laughs from sheer amusement of her words.

"Don't underestimate
me, sweetheart. I could have found out about your whereabouts the minute you
left India four years ago if I wanted to. You're not as untraceable as you like
to believe…"

"Do not call me
sweetheart, I'm nothing to you and you are certainly nothing to me," she speaks
with such strong clarity that has Jai Walia's eyes gleaming at her.

"Someone's gotten a
little feisty over the years," he notes dually just as he takes slow,
predator-like steps toward her, standing over her small frame in an
intimidating manner. Bani takes one step back with each one he takes. She lets
out a soft gasp once her back thumps against the wall and feels her defenses
briefly wear down as she sees he has an advantage by how he has cornered her. His
dark face hovers near hers. She avoids his piercing eyes that do not leave her
face.

"Do you really believe
what you just said, Bani? I'm nothing to you? That's a little hurtful, don't
you think, considering that we had been friends …," he speaks in a low,
taunting voice.

"Things have changed
from what they used to be…. especially after you tried to rape me…," she
responds coldly, meeting his eyes when she says this. She's pleased to see him
flinch by her words, his jaw growing tight, and his face getting tense.

"Cat got your tongue?"
she persists haughtily, indulging in this feat of hers to get one over the
pompous Jai Walia. His glowering eyes look away from her and he takes a step
back, bringing back a decent space in between them.

"It's not really rape
if both partners are willing….which I knew you were, Bani….despite all that
nonsense acting you tried to pull," he digs at her, recovering from her
previous blow. Ire burns dangerously in Bani's eyes. "Don't you dare make
assumptions of me…. You didn't know anything back then and you still don't know
anything now… I wouldn't dream of ever sharing any kind of intimacy with you…,"
she retorts icily, yet her voice wobbling slightly---discreetly hurt by the
fact that he still thinks of her so negatively…. Nothing has changed.

"Oh please, I find it
a little hard to believe that you would have regretted having sex with me… I
reckon you would have begged for it if I hadn't taken the step firs---.." Jai
begins in sneering, only to be cut short when Bani's hand makes contact with
his cheek that flames as an aftermath. He is rendered speechless for a short
moment and looks to Bani to see her breathing raggedly, staring at him with
strong resentment laced in her eyes.

"Get out… Just get out
right now before I call the cops….," she warns lowly…

"… Okay, I'll agree
that I deserved that… It was out of line…. Now just calm down and listen to me…
I don't want to bicker about the past with you….That's not my intention," he
states, sounding the least bit apologetic.

"No, I don't want to
listen to a word that you have to say! Just get out now!" she cries, close to
becoming hysterical….

Jai takes a steely
hold onto her elbow, steering her close, and stares down at her piercingly.

"You really don't want
to know why I flew thousands of miles specifically to come and see you when you
know very well that I don't want anything to do with you….. That fact doesn't
intrigue you even the slightest bit?"

Bani struggles to
release herself. "I've been asking you that question the moment you stepped
into my apartment, Jai, but it seems you're more interested in playing games
with me rather than just getting straight to the point…. And I have no interest
in playing games with you. I have no interest in doing anything with you
whatsoever," she seethes.

"It's about Mausi…,"
he finally declares, letting go of her. Bani holds onto her throbbing arm and
glares at him with hooded eyes. However, her interest is sparked.

"What about Mausi?"
she attempts in asking diffidently, but Jai and herself both know that when it
comes to Mausi, she is anything but indifferent. Along with Krishna Walia's
children, Mausi pampered Bani and Rano with all her love while growing up. Bani
and Rano looked to her as the mother they never had.

"She got into an
accident a week ago and has been hospitalized since…."

Jai Walia remains standing, leaned against one of the walls
of the apartment, whereas Bani is now seated onto her couch with crossed arms
and a forlorn look displayed clearly on her face. Her brown eyes are damp with
tears which she tries her best to conceal from him unsuccessfully.

"She's fine… There wasn't any severe physical harm …. It's a
miracle she survived actually….," he says only to fill up the silence that had
risen once he told her the news….

Bani's gaze lifts toward him, showing him the tears swimming
in her eyes….

"The doctors are hundred percent sure she's alright?" she
questions, not caring that she is sitting and conversing with the one person
she hates most in the world… She only wants to know if the woman she's thought
as a mother is perfectly well and right now he is her only source of information.

Jai Walia gives her a wry smile.

"She's my mother, Bani…. Don't you think I would have the
best doctors on her case?"

Bani becomes silenced, knowing that this is true. If there
is one person in the world that loves Mausi the most, then without a doubt it
is her own nephew, Jai Walia. She dabs at her eyes and gathers herself, not
wanting to show this weak side of her to him, not wanting to let down her guard. And now knowing that Mausi is
alright, there is not much to worry.

"Then why have you come here? Why couldn't you just give a
call instead of intruding in like this?" she clears her throat, regaining her
lost voice.

"No… this… I have to do face to face….," he announces with
an air of authority, leaning away from the wall and straightening his posture. Taking
a good look at him, Bani sees clearly that there is something he has yet to
tell her. Dread fills inside of her almost at once…

"What is it then? You said that Mausi is fine….," her voice
falters slightly.

"Mausi is fine… physically…. but not so mentally….," Jai
confides in her, choosing his words carefully. Bani uncrosses her arms and sits
up straight, growing puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that…. She lost her memory in the accident…"

"She lost her memory?" Bani echoes blankly, finding it hard
to comprehend the fact. Jai gravely nods his head.

"And unfortunately… for you and I… she only recollects her
memory from four years ago….She's in the past… back in 2006…"

"No, she doesn't…," he confirms. Another brief hush
surrounds them in which they reflect on the matter. Bani is deeply upset over
hearing Mausi's accident and her condition, but she reminds herself that she is
far removed from her and from everyone else dealing with her past. And she has
no plans on becoming reacquainted, even if they are her loved ones. There is
too much pain and bitterness left behind…

"I don't understand what this all has to do with me…," she
pronounces, growing an edge in her tone, gathering herself. Jai seems taken
aback by the drastic change in her attitude. One second she is concerned and
worried and the next she is distant and reserved.

"It's rather simple actually…. She's in a very delicate
state right now… She has to be handled with a lot of care… Her doctor has
stated that she can't receive any stress or shocks when her health is so
fragile… Worst case scenario, he fears that it can lead to brain hemorrhage…"

"Then what do you want me to do?" Bani inquires, not
following where this is going….

"She wants to see you…. She thinks that we're still
married," he utters gruffly with a subtle hint of annoyance, perhaps aggravated by the
idea of still being linked to her after all these years, she muses.

"She doesn't know that we---…"

"---got an annulment, yes, she doesn't remember," he
finishes for her. "She assumes we've been happily married for the past four
years…. She's insisting to see what she believes to be her daughter-in-law…,"
he proceeds stonily.

Stumped, Bani dwells over what he has revealed and how it
can affect her if she does what she believes he's implying for her to do. She
will be going back down that path that gave her heartache and nothing else…. Does
she really want to put herself through that again? After she has patched up
herself and has started a new life that has been so far good to her? She knows
the answer and she is going to give it to him.

"No," she responds immediately, jumping up from her seat. "I
am not going to give you what you've come seeking here for …. I'm done with
you… I've been done with you…. I don't want anything to do with you or anyone
involved in my old life… I've made something here for myself and I promised
that I would never go back…. I love Mausi and my best wishes are always with
her, but this I refuse to do….," she states clearly with no compassion,
something she has trained herself to do.

She wills herself not to look away and meet him directly in
the eyes which stare at her unwaveringly. She grows slightly nerved by his
apparent scrutiny.

"…. From what I remember…. you were never this cold," he observes
after a few passing moments…

Bani lifts her chin more determinedly and answers, "Things
have changed… You have yourself to blame for that." She feels brief pleasure on
seeing his jaw tighten.

"If it is pride that is holding you back then I
suggest you swallow it for the woman who has been no less than a mother to you
as well… Do not be mistaken that I have come here to badger about our past… If
I had it my way, I would never have come here… I would never have wanted to see
your face again…. But I'm here for my mother, who is asking for the daughter
she finds in you…."

"… I am not going to be forced back into a sham of a
marriage… I just won't….. She will have the strength to bear the news that we
are in fact no longer married… It's a truth that you can't possibly keep away
from her no matter how hard you try."

"No, she won't be able to bear the news, Bani…. Did you forget
that just like our fathers even she dreamed about us being married?" he jeers,
making her flinch once more by the reminder.

"When she finds out that that dream hasn't come true, she'll
be heartbroken…. The shock might just kill her… like it did to my father," he
adds…. Bani's eyes shoot up at him.

"And what I can't bear is the loss of another family member….,"
he prolongs…. A searing pain gnaws at her by the mention of the deceased Uday
Walia, who had been like another father to her since childhood. The news of his
death shattered her, but fear and pride kept her from attending his funeral at
the very city she never wanted to look back on…. She had grieved alone in her
own way for months.

In an almost regretful tone, Bani speaks hollowly, "… I
can't give you what you want … I won't go back… and nothing you say will change
my mind." Almost instantly she witnesses the change in his eyes, the dreariness
being replaced by a flare of familiar anger she had encountered many times in
the past. His body language becomes rigid and almost even threatening, causing
Bani to be guarded.

"She showered you with affection and loved you as her own….
She was always there for you … She didn't have to be, but she was…. And now
when she needs you to be by her side, you refuse to be? I understand that you
dislike me, Bani… And let me tell you, the feeling is mutual…. But at least
don't let our differences affect a woman who we both care deeply about…. I'm
willing to do anything for Mausi… even if it means I have to deal with the
likes of you again…. and I was hoping to expect the same from you," he tersely
remarks. "But I guess I was terribly wrong…"

Without her wanting to, without her meaning to, a surge of
shame and guilt sieges her making her stay still in her place, unable to move.
She shudders under his chilling eyes that refuse to remove itself from her. She
watches as he reaches for his coat and pulls it around him, his face
taut….firm.

"I see that I have wasted my time by coming here…. I'll see
myself out….." She feels the urge to call out to him, to hold him back, explain
herself to him and where she's coming from, but she refrains to. She doesn't
need to offer any explanations to him. He may think whatever of her. He never
thought of her in a positive light to begin with…. She knows what she is doing.
She's keeping herself from getting hurt… again.

She looks on as he walks toward the door, stalking off with
shoulders raised high. However, she does not expect him to linger by the
doorway on his way out, glancing in her way. She's held captive by his dark,
magnetic gray orbs.

"But if by chance you do change your mind, … I leave back to
India the day after tomorrow early in the morning…. For not my sake, but for
Mausi's… I hope you reconsider and give happiness to a woman who has done
nothing but love you….and believes that you love her too."

She blinks away the tears sprouting once she hears the loud
bang of the door shutting and the figure of Jai Walia disappeared behind it… Unwillingly,
her gaze trails toward the table by the door on which an envelope lays… an
envelope he slapped down seconds before leaving. Her feet dragging across the
carpet, Bani moves to it and takes a hold of it---query taking the better of
it. Tearing it up, a piece of paper flies out and lands on the tabletop…. Looking
closely, she sees what is a plane ticket facing up at her… Her fingers grip
onto it and trace the borders….

"She wants to see you ….a woman who has done nothing but love you ….and
believes that you love her too…."

Against her will, against her better judgment, against her
resolution of indifference, her mind reels with these very words…. and her eyes
fill.

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